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Security in Hampton Roads
Are our ports safer?
September 27, 2006
Port security has taken on a far higher profile. Twelve undocumented workers were arrested after trying to work at Hampton Roads marine terminals. New federal grant money has come in. New security bills are afoot in Congress. With U.S. seaports still a vulnerable gateway for terrorists, Hampton Roads - the nation's sixth busiest port - is at the fore of port security discussions. Here's an update on three critical areas. For more on the Port Authority, see this story in our Money & Work section.

Workers must be screened effectively

Illegal immigrants have excellent forgeries these days - making it hard for employers to know if the workers are legitimate or not. In the past two months, the Virginia Port Authority arrested 12 illegal workers trying to get landscaping jobs at local marine terminals. The Department of Homeland Security is in the late stages of development on a system that will require anyone who needs unescorted access to a port terminal or shipyard to get a background check and submit their fingerprints. But that system is delayed and might not be fully in place until 2008. Government must provide adequate funding

The industry says that it's unfair to saddle private companies with border security costs and that more federal grant money is needed. But others contend that the government already has spent billions on Coast Guard and Customs service improvements - and that the port companies should cover their own security costs. But some grant money is trickling in. On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security awarded $168 million to 51 ports. The Virginia Port Authority got $2.3 million of that amount. That was short of the $6.8 million the authority applied for but better than the zero dollars it got last year. Other local port facilities were awarded a combined $1.2 million. Technology for cargo scanning must be in place

By the end of 2007, the government plans to scan nearly all incoming containers for radiation to detect bombs and weapons. (Local terminals in Hampton Roads scan more than 80 percent of those boxes already.) A separate image scan - sort of like a giant X-ray machine - is done on about 6 percent of boxes - which many critics say is far too low. In another initiative, shipping lines could get fewer inspections if they agree to add electronic devices to their containers to detect tampering. The Virginia Port Authority is adding readers to its terminals for containers outfitted with such equipment.